Dale Earnhardt Jr. was cleared Tuesday for this weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway after missing the last two weeks to recover from two concussions.

The NASCAR driver was examined by neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty one a day after he ran 123 laps at half-mile Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga. Petty monitored Earnhardt during Monday's test at Gresham.

"Dale Jr. has done everything asked of him," said Petty, who consults with NASCAR and is Earnhardt's personal physician.

Petty sidelined Earnhardt after the driver went to see him, mentioning a lingering headache following a 25-car accident on the last lap of the Oct. 7 race at Talladega. Petty diagnosed Earnhardt with a concussion, and said Earnhardt also had one in an Aug. 29 crash that went untreated.

-- AJ Allmendinger will drive for Phoenix Racing this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. It will be Allmendinger's third consecutive start in the No. 51 Chevrolet, and gives him another opportunity in his comeback.

Elsewhere

Mannion back for Beavers

Quarterback Sean Mannion will start for No. 7 Oregon State against Washington on Saturday, less than three weeks after undergoing a surgical procedure on his left knee.

Mannion, from Foothill High in Pleasanton, missed two games after he was hurt in an Oct. 6 victory over Washington State in Seattle. The 6-foot-5 sophomore was injured during a handoff, and an MRI exam revealed the need for surgery to repair the meniscus in his knee.

-- Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said quarterback Everett Golson, who is recovering from a concussion, did well during a full workout and will start for the No. 5 Fighting Irish at No. 8 Oklahoma on Saturday.

-- The 2014 BCS Championship Game, the last one before the postseason goes to a four-team playoff, has been moved up a day to Jan. 6. The move puts the game on a Monday night instead of a Tuesday night.

-- Central Florida will be eligible to compete for both the Conference USA championship and a bowl game this season with its appeal of a one-year football postseason ban not scheduled to be heard until next year.

Golf: Padraig Harrington, a playoff loser the two times he qualified for the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, gave himself a chance to win as an alternate. Harrington, who skipped the BMW Masters in Shanghai to play in Bermuda, made seven birdies for a 5-under-par 66 at Port Royal to take a two-shot lead over Masters champion Bubba Watson going into the final round of the 36-hole exhibition for the year's four major champions.

Tennis: In her first match since winning the U.S. Open, Serena Williams defeated Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-1 to start round-robin play at the WTA Championships in Istanbul, featuring the top eight players in the world.